The True Youkai
by daiyoukai
Summary: The story of Sesshoumaru's journey to becoming a true youkai lord. Read the AN before reading as there may be spoilers. SessKag


**Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in this story…I would think that is quite obvious because if I did this would be a manga about Sesshoumaru and not InuYasha.**

**Warning Spoilers Ahead: Read AN Before Deciding To Continue**

AN This story takes place after chapter 471 so if you haven't been caught up on InuYasha then I suggest you do so or continue to read the AN and I will give a brief synopsis of what you need to know in order to continue with this story. This will most likely be a sessh/Kag story as well so you have been warned and you should also note that the rating for this story is M but I will warn you before chapters which may contain adult content so there is no need to worry about being caught off guard by the content of the story. Besides I am still debating whether or not to even put adult content in this story at all.

If you are up to date on your InuYasha then you can skip to the story if not read this otherwise the story will be rather hard to follow. So here is the basic rundown of what is important to this story. Sesshoumaru (FYI that is the correct spelling of his name so don't review saying it is spelled incorrectly) goes to see his mother about how to increase the power of the Tenseiga. He uses the Tenseiga to open up the way to Hell and a "Dog from Hell" takes Rin and Kohaku into Hell. Sesshoumaru follows them into Hell in order to get them back. While in Hell Sesshoumaru shows his first true signs of emotion when he is overcome by grief at the sight of Rin's dead body. He proceeds to try and bring her back to life, but Tenseiga is unable to bring her back.

Sesshoumaru throws down his sword and say Tenseiga is useless. He blames himself and his quest for power for her death. Sesshoumaru is then given a choice to come back out or continue on his quest to get Rin. If he chooses to go after her, he risks never being able to leave Hell again. He ends up killing the master of Hell after ignoring his mother who opens the only path back to the real world so that he can retrieve the girl and by doing so shows how much he cares for the girl.

He manages to take Rin back to the world of the living and his mother revives Rin using the Meidō-Seki, a stone given to her by Sesshoumaru's father. She berates Sesshoumaru asking him if he thinks he is a god and criticizing his lack of understanding of his sword. The Tenseiga can only bring back the dead once. Here is a quote from the manga that is quite important. "Sesshoumaru, you have had to learn that. At the same time as having a heart wanting to save a beloved life, you need have fear and sorrow over losing that. Your father also said that following. Tenseiga is a healing sword, even when wielding it as a weapon, you must know the weight of the lives you take, and consign to oblivion your enemies with a merciful heart." Then later on she stated, "All this fuss for one human girl…A strange way in which to be like his father."

The main thing you need to know is that Sesshoumaru cares for both of the humans he travels with. If you didn't know it already in addition to Rin he has picked up Kohaku, Sango's brother, and made him a member of his little group. Kohaku is no longer under the control of Naraku. Jaken cares deeply for the little girl as well. He cried when he thought she was dead even though he tried to say he was doing so in Sesshoumaru's place because being a lord left Sesshoumaru unable to show emotion in public. Sesshoumaru's _Meidou Zangetsu Ha_ attack is almost complete now, and Sesshoumaru used his sword to **purify** the dead bodies in Hell. The Toukijin, Sesshoumaru's other sword, was destroyed and he now only carries Tenseiga. Last but defiantly not least is the fact that Kikyou is now dead. Well that is it so on with the story…Don't forget to read the other AN at the end of this chapter! It is also important and should be relatively short.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, what is this place? It makes me feel very good and at the same time very unworthy."

The great demon lord gazed back at Kohaku before returning his gaze to the ethereal setting in which they had just entered. The place was a land of pure perfection. The tall trees with their luscious green leaves surrounded the path down which they walked. Bushes and the most exotic flowers extended down the grassy lane. The soft grass that folded underneath the feat of the travelers caused the even the great youkai lord to feel as if he wasn't worthy of stepping on the soft grass. After a time Sesshoumaru replied, "This place is sacred, Kohaku. Once it was the home of the Shikon no Tama and the original Miko who protected it. Time past and the Shikon no Tama was stolen by a greedy priestess who wanted the power for herself ever since then this place has been sealed and the Shikon Jewel continued to be possessed by different humans and youkai."

The curious little human girl dressed in a light pink kimono tore her gaze from the beautiful flowers in order to sate her curiosity. "Lord Sesshoumaru," Rin asked, "How do you know of this place if it has been sealed away for so long?"

"Lord Sesshoumaru's knowledge is far beyond anything your…" Whatever the little toad like demon known as Jaken was going to say died on his lips as they gazed into the clearing at the path's end. The site was breathtaking. A vast lake lay in front of them. The water shimmered in the light of the blue moon making the lake appear otherworldly. The center of the lake was where the true beauty resonated for it was there on an island that a Weeping Sakura protruded from the ground exuding an aura of both beauty and sorrow. The blossoms had remained white year round and not a single petal ever graced the unworthy ground with its presence.

The group seemed to be locked in a trance staring at the beautiful scene that lay before them. Even the two-headed dragon youkai, Ah-Un, was captivated by the aesthetic image before him. It was almost as if the group was afraid that even the slightest of movements would destroy this perfect moment in time. "Stay here." Those two words left Sesshoumaru's lips successfully breaking the trance held on the little group. Then before anyone could stop him he summoned his youkai cloud and flew across the water.

As Sesshoumaru glided across the lake on his youkai cloud he could not help but think, 'Why should this Sesshoumaru disturb this island? Is it really that important to go to this sacred place?' These were questions that he already knew the answer to. This was the only way to achieve the task set before him. The only way to see the world the way a lord is meant to see it with the eyes of a man with a merciful heart. It was time for him to risk everything to protect the people of the western land.

He landed on the ground in front of the tree taking the time to examine the old tree. Sesshoumaru ran his hand over the coarse bark of the tree until his clawed hand found the indention it had been searching for. It was the place where the completed Shikon Jewel once rested back when the great tree's blossoms where tinged with pink from the power of the Shikon Jewel. "This Sesshoumaru will return to you your precious Jewel."

A single peddle fell off the tree and slowly drifted down before landing on the crescent moon on Sesshoumaru's forehead. A flash of light burst forth, temporarily blinding the demon lord. When the light cleared Sesshoumaru was no longer on the island. He stood in a stone room illuminated by a three torches on each wall. In the center of the room setting on a throne was none other than Tsukiyomi, the moon god. His white hair flowed down to his waist and his bluish-white kimono served to accentuate his pale aristocratic facial features. "Why do you seek my council, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

"This Sesshoumaru wants the ability to access the full power of the dog youkai."

"You dare presume to tell me to give you power you don't deserve," roared the enraged god. "If you want the power then you will have to beat me!" Tsukiyomi lunged from his throne unsheathing his sword and preparing to strike Sesshoumaru. The demon lord acted quickly by unsheathing Tenseiga and blocking the attack.

"Have you forgotten tonight is a blue moon?" questioned Sesshoumaru. "It is the second full moon this month and your strength is lower than normal while mine has only increased."

"No," grunted the god as he blocked an attack, "I didn't forget but just because I am weaker this month and you are stronger because of your exposure to two full moons this month doesn't mean you are strong enough to beat me."

The two continued to fight for quite some time. Blocking and dodging attacks for the past hour had left both warriors tired though Sesshoumaru was the only one of the two who was injured thus far. He had a nasty cut across his chest that seemed to be taking its toll on the stoic youkai lord and seeing a moment of weakness the moon god lunged at the demon only to find that Sesshoumaru had side-stepped the lunge and brought his sword down violently on the sword of the god. "You were right in saying that this Sesshoumaru is not powerful enough to beat you, however, this Sesshoumaru is smart enough to beat you. It ends now!" taunted the demon lord. Before the god even had time to contemplate the meaning behind the words of the youkai, Sesshoumaru twisted Tenseiga so that the flat side of the blade rested on the sword whose point he had just deflected into the ground and he began an upward slice following the edge of his adversary's blade up to Tsukiyomi's face forcing the god to let go of his sword and leap back to avoid Sesshoumaru's attack.

"You missed," taunted Tsukiyomi who had landed in a crouched position next to his throne. Sesshoumaru calmly sheathed Tenseiga and reversed the grip on his sword before walking up to Tsukiyomi. "You fool," roared the enraged kami, "It is you who will die!" The deity unsheathed a second sword that had rested on his throne with the intention of cleaving Sesshoumaru in two. The great youkai lord was not one to trifle with though. He stepped into the attack and partially withdrew Tenseiga and placing it up against Tsukiyomi's other sword successfully preventing the kami from completely unleashing his sword.

"This Sesshoumaru told you it was pointless to fight. This Sesshoumaru would not have come here if there was even the slightest chance of losing!"

"Arrogant fool! Now Sesshoumaru, Lord of the West, you die," said the now smiling god. "I told you that you could not overpower me!" Then with strength that is only possessed by gods he pulled on his own sword and forced Tenseiga to be completely removed from its sheath just a moment before his sword came fully from its scabbard. A vindictive smile crossed his face as he saw the look of horror on the once emotionless youkai as he took advantage of the opening created in order to hack off Sesshoumaru's only arm. Then he saw it a look that would forever be seared within his mind. Sesshoumaru's face took on a smug look right before he clamped his fangs down on Tenseiga's hilt then using speed and flexibility far beyond anything he had shown thus far in the fight he avoided Tsukiyomi's katana slipping underneath the sword and driving Tenseiga through the heart of the kami.

The blood seeped out of Tsukiyomi's chest as he looked down in shock at the katana sticking through his heart. The blood of the god slowly began to mix with the blood of the youkai forming a pool on the floor in front of the throne. Tenseiga pulsed blue and then the youkai lord sprang back ripping the katana out of the chest of the deity and landed smoothly ten feet away from the wounded god. Sesshoumaru sheathed Tenseiga in its scabbard with a graceful flick of his head before resting his eyes on the rapidly healing chest wound of the kami.

The chamber was filled with complete silence even the torches seemed to be too afraid to crackle as the stoic Lord of the West's golden eyes met with the now completely healed though thoroughly exhausted god. The blood continued to seep from the demon's shoulder where his arm was once attached to his body. "You were willing to give up your only arm for a chance to beat me," said Tsukiyomi finally breaking the silence. "What made you so sure that I would honor my end of the deal even if you managed to beat me? After all I killed the goddess of food just because I was disgusted by the way she created food."

"It was a risk," replied the daiyouki. "The reward is more than worth the risk though. This Sesshoumaru finally understands what Inu no Taisho's final lesson to this Sesshoumaru was. He wanted his heir to be compassionate in the ruling of the western land. To have a merciful heart is to be a true youkai lord. This Sesshoumaru asks not for power to be given to this Sesshoumaru by you but that the ability to reach the full power of a youkai to be given to this Sesshoumaru so that this Sesshoumaru can protect the people of the western lands through the power that this Sesshoumaru was born with."

"What of the Shikon Jewel?" asked Tsukiyomi. "It could be used to give you the power to full reach your potential, could it not?"

"The Shikon no Tama should not be destroyed. It is an object of true power: the mixture of youkai and miko powers. It belongs in the tree of life where its intended home was so that its powers do not cause corruption amongst the creatures of the earth. The Miko gave her life to pace a dormant barrier around the tree and once the Shikon Jewel is once again placed there it can never again be removed."

"Lord Sesshoumaru your wisdom is great, however, there is another reason why the Shikon Jewel should not be destroyed. When the jewel was created it created a balance between both youkai and humans. Without the jewel the human race will end up slowly destroying the earth as well as the youkai. The miko Kagome come from a time in the future where humans are very close to destroying the world because of the actions of Kikyou. She thought that by removing the jewel from the earth she would save the world but she just ended up doing more harm than good. The miko Kagome was sent back in time to prevent this destruction of the world. I will grant you your wish Lord Sesshoumaru as you have proven yourself worthy of such power. Your father chose his heir well."

Another blinding flash of white light filled Sesshoumaru's eyes and he once again found himself standing in front of the weeping tree. He summoned his cloud cast one last look at the tree and flew off back to his companions who had been patiently setting across the lake for the past four hours awaiting the return of the youkai lord. "Lord Sesshoumaru your arms, screamed Jaken. "You have both of your arms! You truly are powerful Lord Sesshoumaru."

The demon lord glanced at the group standing before him taking in the tired but alert appearance of Kohaku setting next to a sleeping Rin on Ah-Un's back. 'Yes,' thought Sesshoumaru 'the young taijiya was an excellent addition to his little group. It is good to have someone else look after Rin be sides Jaken.' Then he summoned his cloud and took to the air. Jaken climbed on Ah-Un and took flight following the stoic youkai as he traveled through the air. Right before the tired taijiya fell succumbed to his desire to rest the last thought that he was correct in his previous assessment of Lord Sesshoumaru. The demon lord was the only one who had the power to defeat Naraku and with that thought his eyes drifted shut and sleep overtook him.

AN So what did you think? It is my first attempt at this type of writing. I have written essays about books before but I have never had to actually write a story before. I hope it was decent. Please leave me a review even if you don't like the story. I would like to work on my writing so criticism is appreciated. Also if anyone wants to be a beta reader let me know. I'll try to update this story as soon as I can assuming anyone wants me to but real life may get in the way. :p Check out my profile.


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